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Iowan wraps up run as host of Powerball drawing

December 31, 2008 By

Mike Pace on Powerball set. An Iowan is about to wrap up a 16-year run on a live television broadcast shown in more than two dozen states.

Mike Pace will host his final Powerball drawing at 9:59 tonight. He’s announced the winning numbers every Wednesday and Saturday night since 1992 from a studio in West Des Moines.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says Pace’s final broadcast will take place from the Virgin Islands. "The Virgin Islands joined the Powerball game a couple years ago and there’s never been a broadcast from there, so he’s going to go down with his tuxedo…and will do his last broadcast from there," Neubauer said.

On January 4th, Florida will join the Powerball game and take over as the host state for the drawing.  Pace will no longer be the announcer. With the addition of the Sunshine State, changes are being made to the Powerball game for only the fifth time in its history.

"The end result is there’s going to be one more ball in the mix," Neubauer said. "It’s going to lengthen the odds for winning the jackpot, but improve the odds for winning any prize in the game."

Neubauer says Powerball tickets will still cost one-dollar and the game’s headquarters will remain in Urbandale. The last drawing televised from Iowa will happen this Saturday. Polly Carver-Kimm will serve as host.

AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis report Mike Pace and Powerball. :62 MP3

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Fire official says new cigarettes not only solution to stopping fires

December 31, 2008 By

Cigarettes that go out if no one is puffing on them become mandatory in Iowa stores with the start of the new year, but fire officials say the new cigarettes are not 100% safe. West Des Moines Fire Marshal, Mike Whitsel, says careful handling of cigarettes is still necessary — as people often don’t put used cigarettes in a proper container.

Whitsel says a prime example is an old coffee can with some sand, or nothing in it at all. "And we have seen instances where those cans get completely filled with cigarettes, they may store ‘em outside because they don’t want to smoke inside, you get a breezy day and all of a sudden one of those cigarettes is still smoldering, falls out, and now you have the potential for fire, and some fires have started," Whitsel says. He says be sure the cigarette is put out properly.

He says if you are smoking at work or home, you need to be sure you are putting your cigarette out in an approved container so you stay safe. Whitsel says some seemingly safe containers have turned out to be a problem when burning cigarettes are put in them. Whitsel says they have had a couple of fires caused by people putting cigarettes out in flower pots outside a building. he says there were roots left in the flower pot and the cigarette started those roots on fire.

Whitsel says the new "fire safe’ cigarettes will help the problem, but he says you still have to be certain you put out the cigarettes in a proper many to prevent any trouble. The new cigarettes feature the letters "F-S-C" along the barcode of the cigarette package.  

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Chambers of Commerce opposed to wage requirements for state aid

December 31, 2008 By

An organization representing the state’s largest chambers of commerce is opposed to the idea of higher wage requirements for businesses that receive state aid. Democrats at the statehouse are considering setting higher pay standards for businesses that win state contracts or receive state grants and loans.

Iowa Chamber Alliance executive director Dave Roederer says that won’t work for many Iowa companies. Roederer made his comments this week during an appearance on Iowa Public Radio. "It’s real nice. I mean you can always say that we would like for everybody to make $100,000 in this state," Roederer says. "…The problem is that it’s not economically feasible."

Roederer is a longtime aide to former Republican Governor Terry Branstad and the chairman of John McCain’s 2008 Iowa presidential campaign. He suggests the sort of wage requirements Democrats suggest "defy" the laws of economics.

"General Motors is doing a perfect job of that. They are the masterpiece of paying people more money than they can afford to actually pay," Roederer says. "That feels good for a short period of time — until you’re ready to go bankrupt."

The Iowa Chamber Alliance represents the 16 largest chambers of commerce and economic development groups in the state. The group and its executive director are also speaking out against any effort to force nonunion workers to pay a fee for union services. "Why should somebody who wants nothing to do with a union — why should they be forced to join that?" Roederer asks. "We don’t make people to join political parties if they don’t want to. We don’t make them join anything, other than make them pay income taxes."

Democrats like Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs say they’re not talking about forcing people to join a union. Gronstal says it’s fair, though, for a union to be paid a fee when it negotiates for the salaries and benefits of nonunion workers as well as those who belong to the union.

"If ‘fair share’ is so bad and it’s going to make everybody exit a state that would adopt it, why the heck hasn’t every business moved out of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois and moved to Iowa, because they all have it?" Gronstal asks. 

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Governor wants to create new task force to classify workers

December 30, 2008 By

Governor Chet Culver watches as Iowa Workforce Development Director Elizabeth Buck speaks. A new report claims employers around the state are abusing contract labor laws, putting workers at-risk and costing the state millions in uncollected taxes.

 The five-member Worker Misclassification Task Force issued the report today (Tuesday) to Governor Chet Culver, who backs a proposal to hire nine employees to keep companies from skirting the law.

The plan would cost around $771,000. "Obviously, given the budget challenges, we might not be able to fully fund it," Culver admitted at a statehouse press conference.

However, Culver will ask the legislature for full funding because he says improperly classified workers are wrongfully deprived labor laws related to workers’ compensation, unemployment, overtime and family medical leave.

"And number two, any way that the state can generate revenue, I’m for," Culver said. Worker advocates say some employers improperly classify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying normal payroll-related costs and taxes. The report suggests the formation of a special Misclassification Unit would pay for itself through the additional tax revenues to the state treasury.

Iowa Workforce Development Director Elizabeth Buck, chairperson of the task force, says her agency does not currently have the resources to focus on the misclassification issue. She’s hoping Iowa will join other states that hiring workers to enforce the labor laws. "I think there are more than a dozen states that have taken on this issue," Buck said. "One of our neighboring states, Minnesota, found that 14% of their businesses were misclassifying at least one worker. So, it’s a pretty prevalent problem." The task force issued six recommendations in its report, which is posted on the Iowa Workforce Development website .

House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha issued the following statement today in response to Governor Culver’s plan:

"Two weeks ago the governor was forced to implement across the board budget cuts. Then last week his own department heads asked to increase their budgets by 5.7 percent. Now the governor wants to spend almost $1 million on a task force. During this time of economic uncertainty, the governor should be looking for ways to save taxpayer dollars, not spend more of them.

"I am amazed that the governor doesn’t think the 2,600 new state employees he authorized in the last 2 years are enough. Further, these additions the governor proposes are being made to address an issue that I have yet to receive a single constituent contact on."

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Kroul feels Hawkeyes have something to prove

December 30, 2008 By

Iowa defensive tackle Matt Kroul says the Hawkeyes feel they have a lot to prove in Thursday’s Outback Bowl game against South Carolina. The Hawks won five of their last six games to reach a January bowl for the fifth time in seven years. Kroul says they want to end it with a victory.

Kroul says it’s a good opportunity after hearing how the Big Ten Conference can’t compete with other conferences. Kroul says as a Big Ten school the Hawks feel like they need to help the league’s image. Ohio State has lost in the national championship game the past two years and the Big Ten is already 0-2 in bowl games this year.

Kroul says the conference is underdogs in almost every bowl game this year and he says they want to go out and prove themselves. Kroul says they Hawks are not thinking about what could have been. A strong of close losses early in the season prevented Iowa from making a serious run at the Big Ten title.

Kroul says it’s something you can remember, but says that’s football and says the great teams win the close games. South Carolina is 7-5.

 

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Iowa ends old year by starting new Big 10 basketball season

December 30, 2008 By

The Iowa basketball team has shown improvement during the non-conference season and now the Hawkeyes get a chance to show just how much progress has been made when they visit Ohio State on Wednesday afternoon in their Big Ten opener.

Columbus was the sight of Iowa’s most lopsided loss a year ago as the Buckeyes raced out to a 45-17 halftime lead enroute to a 79-48 win. Coach Todd Lickliter says it was “very unpleasant there” last year as the Buckeyes controlled the game from the start and his team never got in it.

Lickliter expects the Hawkeyes to be more competitive this time. He says with a year of his system under their belt and a new team, they can compete at a high level. Iowa is 10-3. The Buckeyes are ranked 24th after closing non-conference play with their first loss of the season, a 27 point shellacking at home by West Virginia. 

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Attorney General launches new plan to enforce open meeting laws

December 30, 2008 By

Ombudsman Bill Angrick speaks at Attorney General Tom Miller watches. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says he’s launched a new initiative to ensure local governments are complying with the state’s so-called sunshine laws.

 Miller has appointed Assistant Attorney General John McCormally to serve as the primary contact to handle possible violations of open meetings and public records laws.

In addition, Miller says he’s "reaching out" to media groups, asking them to report violations of the laws. Citizens are also encouraged to report violations to the state Ombudsman’s office, who in turn will refer serious cases to the Attorney General’s office for prosecution.

State Ombudsman Bill Angrick says his office has received around 275 complaints this year and describes 40 of them as "substantial."

"My sense is, in a democracy, transparency is ultimately one of the most important elements of our type of government," Angrick said at a Tuesday morning press conference. "If we don’t have transparency, we don’t have accountability and definitely right now we’re in some very challenging and trying times where we need the ultimate of both."

Miller is reversing an earlier decision to rely on local authorities to enforce sunshine laws. "Unfortunately, what happened I think over time is that there became a vacuum," Miller said. "There was an area where the law wasn’t being enforced and we’ve concluded that’s not a good situation."

Miller cited three cases that have been resolved by his office in recent months. Those cases involved a library board in Ida Grove and city councils in Pacific Junction and Winfield. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government
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